1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device and method for subscribing to a network in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a device and method for automatically transferring an embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card IDentifier (eUICC ID) value of a terminal to a network provider subscription server in a wireless communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) that inserts into and is used in a mobile communication terminal as a smart card. The UICC stores personal information of a mobile communication subscriber and enables safe use of mobile communication by performing subscriber authentication and generation of a traffic security key when accessing a mobile communication network.
The UICC is produced as an exclusive card for a corresponding provider by a request of a mobile communication provider, and when producing a card, authentication information, for example, a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), and a K value, for access to a network of the corresponding provider is previously mounted in the card, and the card is launched. Therefore, a corresponding mobile communication provider receives delivery of the produced UICC card to provide the UICC card to a subscriber, and the subscriber performs management such as installation, adjustment, and deletion of an application within the UICC using technology such as Over The Air (OTA), as needed. The subscriber may insert the UICC card into a mobile communication terminal and use the UICC card in a network and an application service of a corresponding mobile communication provider. When replacing the terminal, by inserting the UICC card from an existing terminal to a new terminal, the subscriber may use authentication information, a mobile communication phone number, and a personal phonebook stored in the UICC card in the new terminal.
The UICC card has a physical shape and a logical function defined by a standardization organization of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and maintains international compatibility. With regard to form factor, the UICC card comes in gradually reduced sizes from the most widely used Mini SIM to a Micro SIM and to a recent Nano SIM. Thereby, the UICC card contributes much to reducing the size of a mobile communication terminal, but it is difficult to standardize a UICC card of a size smaller than the recently produced Nano SIM due to the possibility of loss by a user, and in view of a detachable UICC card, a space for mounting a detachable slot to the terminal is required and thus it is difficult to form a detachable UICC card in a smaller size.
In order to solve such a problem, when producing a mobile communication terminal, a security module that performs a function similar to the UICC is housed in the terminal and it is requested that the security module replace the UICC. Therefore, an embedded UICC structure which cannot be detached is suggested.
An embedded UICC (eUICC) may be mounted in a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device requiring access to a mobile communication data network without a person's direct manipulation in various installation environments such as an intelligent household product, an electricity/water supply meter, and a Closed Circuit TeleVision (CCTV) camera. Further, recently, it is suggested to apply the eUICC to a user terminal. However, at present, a network subscription procedure for a user terminal having the eUICC is not suggested. Therefore, an alternative for a network subscription for a user terminal having the eUICC is needed.